Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2005 18:59:28 -0800 (PST)
From: slpwriter <slpwriter@yahoo.com>
Subject: Nick Lachey: My Everything-79

Happy New Year, Everyone!

I'm back with another chapter of "My Everything."

Thanks for all of your support! Without it, I don't
think I could have written this story for this long.

Now on with the story.

First of all, let me just say that this is my first
time writing any kind of fiction like this.

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of total fiction and is
not meant to imply anything about the sexualities of
Nick and Drew Lachey or anyone else mentioned in
this story.

If you are too young to read this, or if
Homosexuality offends you, then please don't
continue any further and leave.

Other 98 Degrees stories I'd like to recommend are.

"Give Me Just One Night" by Unanoche.
"69 with Jeff Timmons" by Zachary Scott Pritt
"Nick Lachey" by Ken.
"98 Degrees Is Hot" by Gay Night
"The Reunion" by RinSong.
"Loving Nick Lachey" by Jordan
"Playing Doctor with 98 Degrees" by Brian
"This Gift" by Sprout

and finally:

"What I feel for you" by Thack.


Now, I"ll let you get on with the story.

Enjoy.


Previously on "My Everything".....


BACK IN SEAN'S ROOM.............

Nick suddenly put his arms around me and pushed me
back a bit, breaking our kiss, his hands on my upper
arms.

"Sean, we can't do this." Nick said, breathing hard.
"I'm a married man."

I looked at him, my expression full of disappointment.

"Yes we can, Nick." I said, as I tried to put my hands
around his shoulders again. "You and Jessica are
separated, remember? There's nothing holding you back
now, is there?"

Nick gently removed my arms from around his shoulders,
but he wasn't trying to hurt my feelings. He was just
uncomfortable at that moment.

"We're not separated yet." He said. "At least not
legally."

I looked down, now feeling guilty for being the one
who kissed him, when he wasn't expecting it. I should
have realized that Nick was vulnerable right now.

"I know." I said, sadly. "And I'm sorry about that. I
can't imagine the pain that you're going through right
now. I was just trying to make you feel better, and I
guess I took it a little too far."

"Don't worry about it." Nick said. "Besides, it takes
two to kiss. I shouldn't have encouraged it by kissing
you back, so I accept my share of responsibility for
that kiss."

"Are you sure?" I asked him, really starting to feel
bad now. "I feel like I took advantage of you now. I
didn't mean to."

"Sean, would you stop that, already?" Nick said, with
a grin. "You worry too much. Although, I have to admit
that it's really sweet of you to be thinking about my
feelings. It really shows how much you have grown and
matured over the years that we've been apart."

I smiled at him. I was really touched by his kind
words. I could definitely say the same thing about
him. He had changed alot while we were apart all those
years. He had grown and matured too. Not to mention
the fact that he'd gotten sexier than ever before. He
was still the most beautiful man in the world to me.
Even today.

"Thanks." I said, lowly. "I can say the same thing
about you. You've changed alot too."

Nick nodded, as he looked at me. Then, his smiled
faded and that look in his eyes came back again. I
could feel the intensity within them.

"Don't you ever wonder......." I said, breaking off as
I gazed into his eyes, mesmerized by their beauty and
charm.

"What?" Nick asked, never breaking his gaze from me.

I swallowed and then took a breath. My attraction to
Nick was getting stronger and stronger all the time. I
didn't know how much longer I was going to be able to
keep my feelings for him under wraps.

"Don't you ever wonder what it would be like.....for
us to be together again?"

Nick blinked, as he processed my words. I continued.

"To make love again." I said, as I started caressing
Nick's chest, lightly. "To feel your warm skin against
mine?"

I started running my hands along Nick's arms again and
up to his shoulders. I leaned in closer, my lips just
inches away from his.

"Right now, you're lonely." I continued, saying, my
voice full of lust. "I'm lonely. So, what do you think
we should do about that?"

Nick and I both stared into each other eyes, both of
us breathing hard. We could feel each other's hot
breath on our lips, even though we were not kissing.
At least not yet.


***********
CHAPTER 79
***********

As I looked into Nick's eyes, I could see the
confusion and the loneliness within them. It was very
evident that Nick was going through hell, and all I
wanted to do was to make him feel better. "But was I
going about it the right way?"

Nick was still not able to answer me when I asked him
what we should do to rid each other of our loneliness.
But I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to make love
to him. I wanted to reach out to him and show him how
much I still loved him.

But at the same time, I was trying to keep from taking
advantage of him, because he was vulnerable right now,
since he missed his daughter. And despite his anger
with Jessica, he missed her too.

"Sean," Nick said, once he'd snapped out of his
trance. "I appreciate what you're trying to do to make
me feel better."

Nick then laid it all out for me. He was going to let
me know what was on his mind.

"But sex is not going to fix anything." He said,
bluntly. "I don't...."

Nick stopped, in mid-sentence. He probably was going
to tell me something that I wasn't going to like, and
decided against it. But, I wanted him to finish what
he was going to say.

"You don't "what" Nick?" I asked him, frowning
slightly. "What is it that you were going to say?"

Nick swallowed, nervously, unsure whether or not he
should tell me what he wanted to.

"I can't tell you." Nick said. "It will only hurt you,
and I don't want to do that. I've hurt you enough, in
the past, and I don't want to cause you anymore pain.
You don't deserve it."

I put my hands on his shoulders, my face full of
concern. I was starting to sense that something was on
Nick's mind. Something big.

"Nick, don't worry about sparing my feelings." I said.
"If you have something to tell me, please do. I want
you to be honest with me. Even if it hurts, I need to
know what you are feeling."

Nick looked down for a moment, thinking it over. Then
he looked up at me and nodded.

"Alright." He said. "If that's what you want, then
I'll tell you."

I dropped my hands from his shoulders and let him
prepare himself to tell me what was on his mind.

"As I said, before, I really appreciate the efforts
you're putting forth in trying to cheer me up." Nick
started saying. "But sex is not the answer. First of
all, because I'm still a married man. Second of all,
because afterward I would feel like I had used you and
I'm not about to do that to you. Not ever."

Nick put his hands around my upper arms and as I
watched, I saw his eyes close, momentarily.

"Oh God, how do I say this?" He asked himself. I could
see how torn up he was over whatever it was that he
wanted to tell me.

Nick then opened his eyes and looked back at me for a
long time. Then, he spoke the truth.

"Sean, I'm not in love with you anymore." Nick said, a
sad note in his voice. "Not the way I used to be when
you were my husband, years ago."

When Nick confessed the truth to me, I felt my heart
shatter into a million pieces. Seeing the man I loved,
standing here, telling me that he didn't feel the same
way about me, was torture.

I had to fight like hell to hold back the tears after
he said that to me.

I walked past him and headed towards my bedroom window
and looked out of it. As I did, I heard Nick's voice
from behind me again.

"I'm terribly sorry if that hurts you in any way, but
you asked me to be honest with you about how I'm
feeling." Nick said.

I didn't turn around. But I nodded, letting Nick know
that I agreed with him.

"It's alright, Nick." I said, even though I was lying
to him and to myself. "You don't have to explain it to
me. I understand."

"No, you don't." Nick said, sounding concerned. "You
don't, because I haven't told you why."

I was silent, as I listened for Nick to continue.

"When I left town, I was struggling to find myself and
I was under alot of pressure to decide which person I
wanted to spend the rest of my life with: You, or
Jessica."

As I listened to Nick, I willed away the tears that
were threatening to fall any minute. But for Nick's
sake, as well as mine, I had to be strong.

"I had to decide who I loved more." Nick said.
"Between Jessica, the beautiful wife that I still love
and adore, to this day. Or, the man that I once loved,
and thought I could love again."

"And when I was in New York, revisiting all the places
that you and I had been to and reliving all the
memories that we shared together, it hit me."

I took a deep breath, as I waited for Nick to come to
his conclusion.

"I realized that Jessica was the person that I wanted
to spend the rest of my life with. Because when I
thought about it, you and I had only been together for
a few short months. But Jessica and I, we go back
years. And then, I realized that you and I were
definitely over and that we could never go back to the
way things were before. You and I both have changed
too much since then."

I turned around and faced Nick. I could see that he
had a few tears running down his face.

"Well if what you say is true, then why are you
crying?" I asked him. "That has to mean something."

"It does." Nick replied. "Having to rehash what I went
through while I was away was hard. Not to mention the
guilt I'm feeling, right now, because I know that I'm
hurting your feelings and I hate it."

"Nick, I'm ok." I said, trying to reassure him. "I
understand what you're saying. And you're right. We
can't go back to the way things were when we were
together. I know it's over between us. So, don't worry
about me. I'll be fine."

Nick was silent for a moment and he just stood there,
looking at me, as if he were trying to figure me out.
When he studied me a little too long, I couldn't take
it anymore.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Nick?" I asked
him, in wonder. "What's on your mind?"

Nick took a few steps towards me so that he was right
in front of me. Then he put his arms around me and
pulled me in for a brief hug.

"I was just thinking about how much you have changed."
Nick said, as he hugged me tight. "You're taking what
I've told you very well and I'm very proud of you."

"Thanks, Nick." I said, with a sad look in my eyes.
Nick could not see it because we were hugging. "It
means alot to me to hear you say that."

I could feel Nick rubbing his hand up and down my
upper back, which was comforting to me.

"No problem." Nick said. "I may not be in love with
you, anymore, but that doesn't mean that I don't love
you. I will always love you, as my friend. That will
never change."

Nick let go of me and I pulled back and looked him, in
the face. I was really grateful to him for his
support.

Nick continued, talking.

"You know," He said, all of a sudden, with a smile. "I
remember thinking a long time ago, that if you weren't
my husband, I would definitely want you for my best
friend."

I smiled back at him, as I thought back to happier
times.

"Well, back then was when you were really lucky." I
said to him, smiling, warmly. "Because, I was both."

Before Nick could say anything else, there was a knock
on the door.

"Who is it?!" I called out, wondering who was at my
bedroom door. Then I heard a man's voice.

"Sean, it's Casey!" I heard. "Can I come in?"

I looked back at Nick, who nodded, giving me
permission to go and see what Casey wanted.

I walked over to the door and opened it. I saw Casey,
standing there, looking back at me.

"Hi, Casey." I greeted him, as I stood in the doorway,
looking at him. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to talk to you." Casey said to me. "May I come
in?"

"Sure." I said, stepping aside so that he could enter
my room.

As Casey walked into my room, he also came face to
face with Nick.

Hi, Nick." He said, to Nick. "I didn't realize that
you were in here."

"Hi, Casey." Nick said. "Don't worry about that, I
actually have to be getting back out there with the
guys. You go ahead and talk to Sean."

Nick started to leave, but I stopped him.

"Nick, we're not done talking." I said, clutching his
arm. "We need to finish what we were discussing."

"We will later, Sean." Nick said. "Right now, I'm
hungry."

I saw Nick rubbing his washboard stomach after he said
that, and that made me laugh.

"Well, in that case, we can't have you starving now,
can we?" I asked, with a laugh.

"No way." Nick said, with a smile. "I'll talk to you
later."

Nick started walking towards the door. As he passed by
Casey, he smiled at him and stopped for a moment.

"Just so you know, Casey, it's really great seeing you
again." Nick said, extending his hand out to Casey.
"Besides, I never really got a chance to give you a
proper greeting when you were here earlier."

"It's alright, Nick." Casey said, as he shook hands
with Nick. "I understand. It must have been a shock
seeing your brother back, unexpectedly, along with
that kiss he planted on me in front of everyone."

"That's an understatement." Nick laughed. "Seeing him
kiss you, that was a real shock."

"Tell me about it." Casey agreed. laughing too. "I
thought I was going to die of embarrassment."

"Speak for yourself, man." I broke in. "When I saw
Jake's face, I thought that he was going to have a
heart attack."

Casey frowned.

"Jake seemed ok with me when I was out there talking
with him during dinner." He said.

"I know." I explained to him. "But Jake still gets
uncomfortable from time to time, seeing other guys
kissing each other. He is straight after all."

Casey then gave me a concerned look.

"Do I need to worry about anything where Jake is
concerned?" He asked me.

"Oh no." I reassured him. "Jake doesn't have a problem
with you being gay. He just isn't comfortable seeing
public displays of affection between guys, when it
comes to kissing and other stuff."

"Thanks for letting me know that." Casey said, nodding
at me. "I'll be a little more careful from now on."

The three of us were silent for a moment, until Nick's
stomach decided to break it, by letting his hunger be
known, for it growled loudly. Casey, Nick, and I all
started laughing profusely.

"On that note, I think that's your stomach telling you
to feed it." I said to Nick, laughing. "Don't keep it
waiting any longer. Go eat."

"Ok." Nick laughed, as he planted a kiss on my cheek.
"We'll talk later."

Nick told Casey that he'd talk to him later and he
left my room and closed the door behind him.

Once Nick was gone, I saw Casey turn back to me.

"So, Casey, what is it that you need to talk to me
about?" I asked him, curiously.

Casey looked at me and I could definitely tell that
there was going to be alot of catching up to do for
both of us.

*******************************************************
MEANWHILE, BACK OUT IN THE KITCHEN.........

Nick re-entered the kitchen and saw everyone, sitting
around the table and talking still, while eating
dinner.

Nick sat back down in his seat and started to eat his
food. When he realized that it had gotten cold, he
picked his plate up and took it over to the microwave
to heat it up some.

As he was putting his plate of food into the
microwave, Drew came over to him.

"Hey, Bro." He said. "You look a little preoccupied.
Is something wrong?"

Nick looked at Drew and saw just how concerned he was.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he opened up a little
to Drew and told him what was going on.

"I guess I might as well tell you since you're going
to find out anyway." Nick said, deciding to come clean
about what was happening in his life.

Drew frowned, noticing the seriousness in Nick's tone.
Whatever Nick was going to tell him, he knew that it
wasn't going to be good.

"Find out what?" He asked Nick, a concerned look on
his face.

Nick sighed.

"Jessica and I are currently separated." He said to
Drew. "I told her that I wanted a legal separation
last night."

When Drew heard that, he was visibly shocked by it. He
couldn't believe that his brother's marriage had
gotten this bad.

"Oh man, Nick." Drew said, sympathetically. "I had no
idea things were this bad, I'm sorry. What happened?"

Just then, the microwave beeped, as it finished
heating up Nick's food, interrupting them briefly.

"It's a long story, Drew." Nick said, as he opened the
microwave and took out his food. "I'll tell you more
about it later."

"Alright." Drew said. "Since I'm done with my dinner
now, I'm going to go and ask Sean if there's a place
that I can lay down for awhile and take a nap. I
didn't get much rest since I took an overnight flight
to get here."

Nick nodded, understanding Drew's position. He had
done the same thing this morning.

"Tell me about it." He said. I'm in the same boat as
you. Jeff, Danny, Justin, Kandi, and I flew overnight
in our private jet here to surprise Sean for
Christmas."

"Really?" Drew asked, impressed by that. "That was
very nice of you all to do that."

After saying that, Drew covered his mouth to stifle a
yawn. Nick took a good look at him and saw just how
tired Drew really was.

"Why don't you go and lay down in the guest room right
across from Sean's room?" Nick suggested to him. "I'm
sure Sean won't mind. Right now, he's busy talking
with Casey in his room."

"Ok." Drew said. "Thanks, Nick. I'm going to go and
lay down now."

"Sure." Nick said, and then pointed down the hallway.
"It's the last door at the end of the hallway to the
right. Sean's room is to the left of it."

"Alright, Nick." Drew said, smiling. "And thanks
again."

"Have a good rest." Nick said, as he watched Drew walk
off to the guest bedroom.

Nick sighed and took his food back to the table and
resumed to eating it, now that it was hot again.

While, he was doing that, he happened to glance over
at Jeff and Danny, who were finishing up with their
dinner. He saw Danny get up, saying that he was going
to use the bathroom. As soon as Danny left, Nick
looked back at Jeff and saw that something was
weighing heavily on Jeff's mind.

"Jeff, are you ok?" Nick asked him, as he watched Jeff
picking at his food.

Jeff looked up when he heard Nick's voice and saw the
concern in Nick's face.

"I'm alright, Nick." Jeff said, softly. "Why do you
ask?"

Nick shrugged.

"I don't know." He replied to Jeff. "You just don't
seem your usual self. Is everything alright?"

Jeff set down his fork and wiped his mouth. Then he
looked back up at Nick and prepared to say what was on
his mind.

"Not here." He said, standing up. "Come with me,
outside."

Nick frowned as he stood up to follow Jeff, who was
already heading for the door. He followed Jeff outside
and closed the door behind him.

*******************************************************
MEANWHILE, BACK IN SEAN'S ROOM...............

"I wanted to talk to you and catch up with you." Casey
said to me. "After all, I haven't seen or heard from
you, in two years."

Just then, Casey frowned, as if he were remembering
something really important.

"Come to think of it," He continued. "I haven't seen
you since your wedding day when you married Nick."

"I know." I said, sadly. "And I'm really sorry that I
never stayed in touch with you when I needed my
friends most. I guess I should tell you what I've been
through since we last saw each other."

Casey shook his head.

"There's no need, Sean." He said. "I already know what
you went through."

"You do?" I asked, surprised. "How much do you know?"

Casey walked over to me and stopped, just in front of
me, a serious look on your face.

"I know everything." He said. "I know about how Nick
and the rest of your friends disowned you. Your moving
here to Orlando, your suicide attempt, and everything
else that you've been through."

"Did Drew tell you?" I asked him, curious as to how he
found out.

"Yes, he did." Casey said. "He told me when we came
face to face in New York."

"Ah, I see." I said, nodding. Then I looked back up at
him. "How did you feel about that?"

"Oh, I was furious with him." Casey said, an angry
look crossing his face, but only briefly. "At first.
But when Drew talked to me, I could see something in
him that made me feel bad for him. He seemed so lost
and so alone, that  I couldn't stay mad at him for
long."

While Casey told me everything that had gone on in New
York between him and Drew, I couldn't help but feel
the bitterness come back again, thinking about how
Drew had betrayed me and Nick, by sabotaging our
marriage.

"Well, I can after what he did to me, Casey." I said,
the bitterness obvious in my voice. "After what he did
to me and Nick, it's extremely hard for me to get past
it."

Casey looked up at me, again. He looked like he knew
what I was referring to, but I wasn't sure if he knew
about that part.

"Are you talking about how Drew fixed it up so that
you and Nick wouldn't be together, legally?" He asked
me, then said. "If that's what it is, I know about
that too."

"Boy." I said, in amazement. "You weren't lying when
you said you knew "everything."

"No, I wasn't." Casey laughed. "Drew sure took a huge
risk in telling me the truth. It shows just how much
he's learned from what he's done."

"You should have seen him before he took off and left
so abruptly." I told Casey. "For awhile, it looked
like he and I were going to be something together, but
then later, He saw an incident between me, Matt, and
Ben and he flipped out. He was so insecure and he was
such a whiner and he constantly questioned whether or
not I ever really cared about him. He felt like I had
used him. He even called me a slut to my face, once."

Now, this amazed Casey, for his eyebrows shot up, in
surprise.

"Really?" He asked, blown away. "That certainly
doesn't sound like the Drew I know."

I frowned. "What do you mean?" I asked him.

"The Drew Lachey I talked to in New York, did seem
really lost." Casey explained to me. "But, I also saw
this fiery determination within him, the more we
talked and got to know one another. Drew vowed to make
things right again and he swore that he would do
whatever it took to get back his brother's trust, and
forgiveness, and yours as well."

I nodded, listening to him, but didn't say anything.

"So, when he told me that he was going to fly in to
Orlando to talk to you first, before he flew back
home, that's when I knew that I had to come and see
you." Casey concluded. "I had to come and tell you
that I forgive you too, for breaking contact with me
as well. I'm glad to have you back in my life again,
too."

When Casey finished saying all of that, I grinned
widely. I was so happy that he was willing to put it
all behind him and move past it all.

"Come here." I said, extending my arms out, offering a
hug if he chose to take it. Casey obliged and wrapped
his arms around me and hugged me, hard.

"Merry Christmas, Sean." Casey said, as we continued
to hug.

"Merry Christmas, Casey." I said, softly.

*******************************************************
OUTSIDE, ON THE BEACH.....................

"Now that you got me outside here with you, Jeff, can
you tell me what's going on now?" Nick said, as they
walked down the beach. "You're starting to worry me
with your silence."

"I know." Jeff said. "I just am not sure where to
start."

"It's alright, Jeff." Nick said, patting Jeff on the
shoulder. "Take your time, buddy."

They kept walking as Jeff thought about what he wanted
to say to Nick. And as Nick watched Jeff, closely, he
could see that whatever Jeff was going through was
major.

Finally, Jeff looked like he was ready to talk about
it.

"Alright, Nick, I'm ready." Jeff said, as he stopped
walking. So did Nick.

"Well, don't keep me in suspense, man." Nick said,
anxiously. "What's up?"

Jeff looked at Nick for a moment, before speaking.
Then, finally, he spoke.

"It's about Danny." Jeff said. "I'm starting to wonder
if he and I really are meant for each other."

Hearing that from Jeff, Nick was floored. He'd never
thought that this would ever have been an issue with
Jeff. To Nick, Jeff and Danny were a solid couple.
Now, here was Jeff, telling him that he was
questioning whether or not he and Danny were meant to
be.

"What?" Nick asked, in shock. "Jeff, whatever happened
to make you question that?"

Jeff's eyes shifted down to the ground, and Nick was
starting to pick up a really weird vibe from Jeff.
There was definitely something going on that Jeff
wasn't telling him.

"Jeff," Nick said. "I can sense that there's something
you're not telling me. What is it?"

Jeff looked back up at Nick. When he did, Nick could
see that Jeff was close to tears.

"Oh God, Nick!" Jeff whispered getting choked up, as a
tear slid down his face. "How do I tell him? How do I
tell Danny that I don't think that I'm in love with
him anymore?"

After getting that all out, Jeff couldn't go on and he
turned away. He crumpled to the ground and started
sobbing.

All Nick could do was stand there, in total shock. He
couldn't believe that things had come to this between
Jeff and Danny. He didn't know what this meant for
them, but one thing he did know is how crushed Danny
was going to be if Jeff decided to end their
relationship.

Nick watched Jeff sob, and his heart really went out
to him. He knelt down and put his hands on Jeff's
shoulders and gently squeezed them, offering Jeff his
support.

"My God, Jeff, I had no idea." Nick said. "I never
thought that your feelings for Danny would ever
change."

"Neither did I." Jeff said, as he wiped his face. "I
didn't think it was even possible. To me, I always had
the perfect guy. Now, I wonder if that's really true."

Nick, feeling sympathetic towards Jeff, leaned into
him and gave him a hug, which Jeff accepted.

"Jeff?" Nick asked, as he hugged Jeff. "Have you met
someone else?"

*******************************************************
BACK INSIDE, IN SEAN'S ROOM............

Casey and I pulled back from our hug, just in time to
hear someone knock on the bedroom door again.

"Come in!" I called out to whoever it was. "It's
open!"

The door opened and Drew popped his head in, briefly.
I took a good look at him and saw that he looked dead
on his feet.

"Am I interrupting?" He asked, with a worried look on
his face.

"Oh no." I said, shaking my head. "Casey and I were
just catching up on things. What's up?"

"I just came to ask you if it'd be alright if I
crashed in your guest bedroom for awhile?" Drew asked
me. "I'm really beat and I need some rest."

Even though, I wasn't all that thrilled that Drew was
around, I wasn't about to deny him any rest. He and I
had alot of issues left to resolve, but it was
Christmas and it was a day to put our differences
aside. Christmas was a time for giving.

"Sure, Drew." I said. "You look like you really do
need it. Go ahead and get some sleep."

Drew smiled at me.

"Thank you." He said, warmly. "I'm going to go and lay
down now."

Drew started to pull back and shut the door.

"Drew, wait!" Casey called out to him. "I'll come with
you!"

Drew peeked his head back in and when he saw Casey
smiling at him, his face broke into a huge grin.

"Are you sure you want to?" He said, softly. "Because
if you do, I won't be getting any sleep."

That was a bit too much information for me to hear.

"Ok, you two, if you're going where I think you are,
then keep that to yourselves, ok?" I laughed, raising
my hands up. "I don't need to know the details of your
sex life."

"Really?" Drew asked, with a grin. "Since when?"

Seeing the dopey looks on both of their faces was a
little too much for me to take. But it was cute to
see, nonetheless.

"You two just shut up and go get some sleep." I said,
with a laugh. "And if you decide to get physical, you
just remember that those doors have locks on them for
a reason. And should you have the energy to go at it
like rabbits, I suggest you keep it down. I don't want
to hear any noises of any kind, you got it?"

Casey nodded at me, even though he and Drew were
smiling like Cheshire cats.

"Yes, Sean, we got it." Casey said. "We're both tired,
so sex is the last thing on our minds right now."

Hearing Casey say that, Drew gave him a funny look and
then he elbowed him in the arm.

"Are you sure about that, hot stuff?" He asked Casey,
then added. "I hear that sex is a great way to treat
insomnia, so it'll be a great way to get to sleep."

Casey then looked at Drew and gave him a serious look.
A look that I hadn't seen before. Drew seemed to know
what it was about.

"I'm sorry, Casey." He said. "I totally forgot that
you're not ready yet after what happened with Paul."

When he mentioned Paul, I saw the same look on Casey's
face that I did when I asked him about Paul earlier
and I was now more concerned than ever.

"Ok, I've had it." I said to both of them. They turned
and looked at me, both of them frowning.

"What's wrong, Sean?" Drew asked me. "What do you mean
you've had it?"

I looked over at Casey and saw him wipe at his eyes.

"I've had it with the suspense. It's killing me." I
said. "You keep talking about something that happened
with Paul. What happened? What did he do to you,
Casey?"

Pushing Casey to talk about Paul was probably not the
best thing, for the next thing I knew, Casey was
angry.

"Damn it, Sean!" Casey said, a little harshly. "Can't
you understand that I'm not ready to talk about it
yet?! It's not something that I can share with
everyone all at once. The pain is just too much and I
had a hard enough time telling Drew!"

"Alright, I'm sorry." I said, raising my hands, trying
to get him to calm down. "I didn't mean to push too
hard."

Casey face softened after I apologized and I saw that
he looked like he regretted being so harsh  with me,
at that moment.

"No, Sean, I'm sorry." Casey said, softly. "Can we
talk about this another time? Drew and I really do
need our rest right now."

I nodded. I knew I wanted to stay on good terms with
Casey and I didn't want to do anything to screw up
what was left of our friendship, so I let the subject
of Paul go for the time being.

"Sure." I said. "You two go ahead and get some sleep.
We'll talk later."

"Thanks." Casey said. "Drew and I will see you later."

After saying that, he and Drew turned and left my room
and closed the door behind them.

I lied down on my bed and thought about what had
almost happened with me and Nick earlier. I thought
over everything that Nick had said to me earlier. I
knew that he wasn't in love with me, anymore, but a
part of me did not want to believe that.

And now that Nick had told me that he and Jessica may
be separating, I wanted more than anything just to
tell Nick my true feelings right now. But I couldn't
do it, now that I knew that Nick no longer loved me in
the romantic sense anymore. So, for Nick's sake, I
decided to just keep quiet. For now.

As I thought over things, and listened to the sound of
the water crashing against the sandy shores of the
beach, I started to feel very tired. The next thing I
knew, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

*******************************************************
BACK OUTSIDE, ON THE BEACH.................

Jeff pulled back from Nick's hug and wiped at his
eyes.

"Yes, Nick." Jeff said, sadly. "There is someone else.
Someone who I'm really close to."

Now, Nick was even more concerned than before. He also
wondered about something else.

"Jeff, I'm going to ask you something and I want you
to be straight with me." Nick said, his tone serious.

Jeff frowned, in confusion. "What?" He asked.

Nick was a little unsure of himself whether or not he
should even bring up the subject, but if he wanted to
help Jeff get through this, he had to ask now.

"Have you been seeing someone else while you've been
with Danny?" He asked Jeff. "And have you cheated on
Danny?"

Nick must have touched a nerve, because Jeff took that
question a little personally.

"Damn it, Nick! No!" Jeff said, loudly. "I would never
cheat on my boyfriend!"

"Are you sure about that?" Nick asked him, then said.
"I never thought I would have cheated on Sean when I
was with him, but I did, once before."

"Well, I'm not you, Nick!" Jeff said, bitterly,
remembering that time.

Nick's concerned expression changed to hurt over
Jeff's harsh words. He understood why Jeff had said
that, but it still hurt him to hear it. Jeff's eyes
widened when he realized what he had done.

"Shit! Nick, I'm sorry!" Jeff said, throwing his arms
around Nick, as he apologized to him. "I didn't mean
it like that. Forgive me, man. I'm just so confused
right now. I don't know what to do where my
relationship with Danny is concerned."

Nick hesitated, slightly, before putting his arms
around Jeff. He still felt a little hurt over what
Jeff had said. But, he knew that Jeff didn't mean it.

"It's ok, Jeff." Nick said, as he patted Jeff's back
lightly. "I understand. It hurt, but I understand why
you said what you said. If you say you haven't cheated
on Danny, then I believe you. After all, I'm a perfect
example of an unfaithful man, aren't I?"

That admission from Nick, sure surprised the hell out
of Jeff. Jeff pulled back and looked Nick in the face.

"Nick, just because you were unfaithful one time
before doesn't mean that you will always be an
unfaithful man." Jeff said, as he gazed at Nick.
"You've been a very loyal and loving husband to
Jessica. And you been faithful to her."

Nick eyes shifted downwards when Jeff finished saying
that last part. Jeff saw that and then questioned Nick
again.

"You have been faithful to Jessica, right?"

Nick didn't know what to say to that. But he wasn't
going to lie to Jeff either.

"Well, yes and no." He said, nervously, running his
fingers through his hair, which was fluttering in the
wind. Jeff squinted.

"What does that mean?" Jeff asked "Either you've been
faithful or you haven't. Which is it?"

"The reason I say yes and no is because there's
different meanings to it. Yes I've been faithful
because I haven't slept with Sean, and no because Sean
and I have kissed quite a few times."

Jeff eyebrows shot up at that admission from Nick.
Then a grin crossed his face.

"So, does this mean that you and Sean are getting back
together?"

Nick started to answer Jeff, but he was interrupted by
a car horn honking. He and Jeff both turned around to
see who was honking at him.

Nick's jaw dropped when he saw Jessica at the wheel of
a shiny Mercedes convertible. And she had the baby
with her.

Jessica got out of the car and went around to unstrap
Nicole, while Nick and Jeff walked up to her car.

"I can't believe you're here!" Nick said, in shock.
"What made you decide to come?"

Jessica smiled at him, warmly, as she lifted Nicole
out of the car seat. She walked over to Nick and
handed Nicole to him.

"Let's talk about that, later." She said, as Nick
accepted the toddler and cradled her in his arms.
"Right now, I think we should get through the rest of
Christmas Day before we get into anything heavy later,
alright?"

"That's fine with me." Nick said, as he rocked Nicole
in his arms. "And thank you so much for bringing our
daughter. I really missed her."

Nick looked up at her and smiled at her.

"I missed you too, despite everything that's going on
with us right now." He added.

"Come on, let's go inside." Jessica said, walking
towards the apartment.

"We're right behind you, Jessica." Jeff said, as he
and Nick followed Jessica back into Sean's apartment.

*******************************************************
LATER THAT NIGHT.............

I woke up a little bit later to hear the sounds of
laughter coming from in the living room. I wondered
what everyone was doing at that moment.

I looked at the clock and was shocked to see that it
was almost 10:00p.m. I couldn't believe that I had
slept for so long. And I also wondered why nobody had
awakened me. But, I was going to find out.

I sat up and stretched, getting all the sleep out of
me so that I was more awake. I wiped the sleep out of
my eyes and got up off of the bed.

I then walked to the door and opened it, heading for
the bathroom. I went in, did my business, and brushed
my teeth so that I wouldn't have bad breath when I
went out to hang out with everyone, out in the living
room.

I finished up what I had to do and walked out of the
bathroom and down the hall towards the living room.

When I turned the corner, towards the living room, I
was stopped in my tracks from what I saw before my
eyes:

Justin, Jeff, Danny, Drew, and Casey were sitting on
the floor around the TV, and had a board game sitting
in the center of the circle. From what I was seeing on
the TV, they must be playing "Scene It?"

As I looked around the room, my jaw dropped when I saw
that Jessica was here. "When did she get here?" "And
why didn't anyone tell me that she was coming?"

I watched Jessica and Nick, who were sitting on the
sofa and talking softly to one another. I also noticed
that Jessica had brought Nicole with her. The little
toddler was asleep in Nick's arms

I darted back, out of sight before anyone could see me
and listened from around the corner

Since I was standing in the hallway, which led right
into the living room, and the kitchen was to my right,
the guys all had their backs to me. I could see the
back of the couch, since Nick and Jessica were sitting
on it, so their back were to me, also.

>From where I was hiding, I could hear Nick and
Jessica, both talking to each other.

"I can't thank you enough for bringing our little
angel here with you, Baby."

"Baby?" I thought to myself, when I heard Nick say
that. "What the hell?!"

I then heard Jessica speak next.

"I had to, Nick." Jessica said, quietly. "She missed
you. We both did."

"I missed you both, too." Nick said "And I'm really
glad that we talked earlier and got everything out in
the open."

I frowned when Nick said that. "What exactly did he
mean by that? "What had they talked  about?"

"So, does that mean that you'll come back home?"
Jessica asked him. "Will you give our marriage another
shot?"

When I heard her ask Nick that, I peeked around the
corner, wanting to see and hear what his answer would
be. But I ended up regretting it.

Instead of answering Jessica right away, I saw Nick
bring a hand up to her face and she brought her hand
up to his and cupped it. Then, Nick leaned in and
kissed her,  on the lips.

When I saw Nick, kissing Jessica, that was all it took
for me to lose it. But I wasn't about to lose it in
front of everyone. Especially not Nick.

I slowly shifted back into the hallway and tiptoed
back to my room. I snicked the door quietly shut and
went back over to my bed and crashed down upon it, as
I tried to keep control of my emotions.

"This can't be happening!" I whispered as the first
set of tears ran down my face. "Nick can't be getting
back together with her! She's not good for him!"

"But what was I going to do?" I couldn't just let
Jessica worm her way back into Nick's good graces.
Nick told me that he and Jessica were separating. I
guess I shouldn't have put it past Jessica to try and
make a play for Nick, in order to win him back.

Something had to be done. I had to stop her, somehow.
"But how? What could I do?"

My eyes narrowed, and an emotionless look crossed my
face, when I finally realized what I could do.

"The only way to stop Jessica from hurting Nick
again," I said, in a chilling voice. "is to get rid of
her!"


To Be Continued........?

COMING UP NEXT: Don't miss what happens next when
Jessica's plan is revealed! Will it send Sean over the
edge?"

"What happens next?" Oh, if you only knew!"

Stay tuned.

slpwriter@yahoo.com













































































































































































































































































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